Property from an Important Private European Collection Danh Vo Alphabet (B) 2011 gold leaf on unfolded cardboard box 36 1/4 x 85 7/8 in. (92 x 218 cm)
Provenance Galerie Buchholz, Cologne Acquired from the above by the present owner Exhibited The Hague, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, Transforming the Known, June 8 - September 29, 2013 Catalogue Essay “I see myself, like any other person, as a container that has inherited these infinite traces of history without inheriting any direction.” Danh Vo The works of Danh Vo universally bridge his intimate experiences of cultural displacement and migration, with broader implications of the consequences of worldwide importation and exportation of both goods and ideas. Growing up in Denmark and born in Vietnam, Vo is principally concerned with analyzing communication through highlighting contradictions in our contemporary society. He actively subverts institutional constructs, the imposed rule of society. He fervently denies clarifications and does not hold expectations of his audience’s understandings; above all, Vo seeks his oeuvre to simply be. The present lot does just that, through the synthesis of modern anxiety tempered by a direct composition immersed in visual power. Alphabet (B) confronts us with the immediacy of a dichotomy: the rich delicacy of gold leaf and the detritus of a cardboard box. Amassing a collection of boxes from Vietnam, Vo breathes new life into these spoiled found objects, earnestly illustrating their reality, through his sensitive application of gold. In the artist’s home of Southeast Asia, sanctified objects are signified with gold leaf—in this manner, the present lot arbitrates reality with ideality and neatly contextualizes venerable traditions with present day artistic processes. The letter B, dominating the foreground, is extrapolated from the Bowditch alphabet as standardized in the maritime community in the early 19th century. This global language facilitated the centralization of communication between the West and the East, supporting international trade and ultimately heralding colonization. In describing the amalgamation of the personal and historical in his works, Vo has elucidated, “I don’t really believe in my own story, not as a singular thing anyway. It weaves in and out of other people’s private stories of local history and geopolitical history. I see myself, like any other person, as a container that has inherited these infinite traces of history without inheriting any direction. I try to compensate for this, I’m trying to make sense out of it and give it a direction for myself.” (Danh Vo in conversation with Francesca Pagliuca, “No Way Out: An Interview with Danh Vo,” Mousse Magazine, February 2009) Read More
Property from an Important Private European Collection Danh Vo Alphabet (B) 2011 gold leaf on unfolded cardboard box 36 1/4 x 85 7/8 in. (92 x 218 cm)
Provenance Galerie Buchholz, Cologne Acquired from the above by the present owner Exhibited The Hague, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, Transforming the Known, June 8 - September 29, 2013 Catalogue Essay “I see myself, like any other person, as a container that has inherited these infinite traces of history without inheriting any direction.” Danh Vo The works of Danh Vo universally bridge his intimate experiences of cultural displacement and migration, with broader implications of the consequences of worldwide importation and exportation of both goods and ideas. Growing up in Denmark and born in Vietnam, Vo is principally concerned with analyzing communication through highlighting contradictions in our contemporary society. He actively subverts institutional constructs, the imposed rule of society. He fervently denies clarifications and does not hold expectations of his audience’s understandings; above all, Vo seeks his oeuvre to simply be. The present lot does just that, through the synthesis of modern anxiety tempered by a direct composition immersed in visual power. Alphabet (B) confronts us with the immediacy of a dichotomy: the rich delicacy of gold leaf and the detritus of a cardboard box. Amassing a collection of boxes from Vietnam, Vo breathes new life into these spoiled found objects, earnestly illustrating their reality, through his sensitive application of gold. In the artist’s home of Southeast Asia, sanctified objects are signified with gold leaf—in this manner, the present lot arbitrates reality with ideality and neatly contextualizes venerable traditions with present day artistic processes. The letter B, dominating the foreground, is extrapolated from the Bowditch alphabet as standardized in the maritime community in the early 19th century. This global language facilitated the centralization of communication between the West and the East, supporting international trade and ultimately heralding colonization. In describing the amalgamation of the personal and historical in his works, Vo has elucidated, “I don’t really believe in my own story, not as a singular thing anyway. It weaves in and out of other people’s private stories of local history and geopolitical history. I see myself, like any other person, as a container that has inherited these infinite traces of history without inheriting any direction. I try to compensate for this, I’m trying to make sense out of it and give it a direction for myself.” (Danh Vo in conversation with Francesca Pagliuca, “No Way Out: An Interview with Danh Vo,” Mousse Magazine, February 2009) Read More
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
